Democratic Republic of the Congo March 11, 2020 Africa , Belgium colony , Central Africa , charbon , cobalt , colony , conflicts , Congo , Congo-Kinshasa , cuivre , Democratic Republic of the Congo , diamants , DRC , Francophonie , French , French language , Katanga , Kinshasa , Lake Tanganyika , Millenium Objectives for development , mines , natural resources , OMD , or , Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , Rift , Tanganyika , UNDP , United Nations Development Program , volcano , wars , Zaïre Official name Democratic Republic of the Congo Name in local language République démocratique du Congo (fr) ; Republiki ya Kongó Demokratíki (ln) Continent Africa Subcontinent Sub-Saharan Africa Population (ranking: 16e ) 95,784,841 inhabitants (2019) Population growth 3.30 % / year Area 2,345,410 km² Density 40.84 inhabitants / km² GDP (ranking: 92e )47.228 billions $USD (2018) GDP/capita (ranking ) 562 $USD (2018) GDP growth 5.80 % / year (2018) Life expectancy (ranking ) 60.40 years (2018) Birth rate 43.69 ‰ (2015) Fertility rate 6.45 children / woman (2015) Death rate (ranking ) 13.27 ‰ (2015) Infant mortality rate (ranking ) 88.62 ‰ (2015) Literacy rate 63.82 % (2015) Official languages French (lingala, kikongo, swahili and tshiluba are national languages) Currency Congolese franc (CDF) HDI (ranking: 217e )0.459 / 1 (2018) EPI (ranking )30.41 (2018) Government Unitary semi-presidential republic Head of State President Félix Tshisekedi National Day 30 June (independence from Belgium in 1960) ISO Codes CD, COD Demonym Congolese Tourists (ranking ) 351,000 people (2016)
A country rich in raw materials but ruined by wars The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), sometimes called Congo-Kinshasa with reference to its capital city, as opposed to Congo-Brazzaville, its northern neighbor, is a country in Central Africa. It is the most populous French-speaking country, now before France . It shares borders with many countries because of its strategic central position: Congo , Central African Republic , South Sudan , Uganda , Rwanda , Burundi , Tanzania , Zambia and Angola .
The green hills of Katanga during the rainy season. Photo: Sebastien Lavoie, Wikipedia Boulevard du 30 juin, Kinshasa. Photo: MONUSCO/Myriam Asmani Urban areas (2016) Urban areas Population Kinshasa 12,641,463 inhabitants Mbuji-Mayi 3,367,582 inhabitants Lubumbashi 2,096,961 inhabitants Kisangani 1,602,144 inhabitants Tshikapa 1,450,615 inhabitants Kikwit 1,326,068 inhabitants Kananga 1,271,704 inhabitants Mwene-Ditu 1,252,469 inhabitants Mbandaka 1,187,837 inhabitants Goma 1,101,306 inhabitants Kolwezi 1,078,568 inhabitants Bukavu 1,012,053 inhabitants Bandundu 950,683 inhabitants Bunia 900,666 inhabitants Butembo 898,265 inhabitants Likasi 635,463 inhabitants Boma 527,725 inhabitants Kindu 453,941 inhabitants Isiro 413,533 inhabitants Beni 397,653 inhabitants Matadi 347,053 inhabitants Gbadolite 198,839 inhabitants Zongo 132,265 inhabitants
Administrative divisions Provinces Population Area Bas-Congo (Kongo central) 5,575,000 inhabitants 53,920 km² Bas-Uele 1,093,845 inhabitants 148,331 km² Équateur 1,626,606 inhabitants 103,902 km² Haut-Katanga 3,960,945 inhabitants 132,425 km² Haut-Lomami 2,540,127 inhabitants 108,204 km² Haut-Uele 1,920,867 inhabitants 89,683 km² Ituri 4,241,236 inhabitants 65,658 km² Kasaï 3,199,891 inhabitants 95,631 km² Kasaï-Central 2,976,806 inhabitants 59,111 km² Kasaï-Oriental 5,475,398 inhabitants 9,545 km² Kinshasa 12,641,463 inhabitants 9,965 km² Kwango 1,994,036 inhabitants 89,974 km² Kwilu 3,637,000 inhabitants 78,441 km² Lomami 2,048,839 inhabitants 56,426 km² Lualaba 1,677,288 inhabitants 121,308 km² Mai-Ndombe 1,768,327 inhabitants 127,243 km² Maniema 2,333,000 inhabitants 132,250 km² Mongala 1,793,564 inhabitants 58,141 km² Nord-Kivu 8,985,711 inhabitants 59,483 km² Nord-Ubangi 1,037,000 inhabitants 56,644 km² Sankuru 1,007,000 inhabitants 104,331 km² Sud-Kivu 5,772,000 inhabitants 65,070 km² Sud-Ubangi 2,744,345 inhabitants 51,648 km² Tanganyika 2,482,009 inhabitants 134,940 km² Tshopo 2,614,630 inhabitants 199,567 km²
See also